The present invention relates to an easily assembled greenhouse and to a method of assembling a greenhouse, especially to a greenhouse formed of a polymer tube frame having a polymer tube frame door.
Greenhouses are used to provide a sheltered controlled environment for plant growth and should foster plant life within it by giving shelter and by controlling the reception of solar radiation and by providing control ventilation and by reducing nocturnal re-radiation. A greenhouse for home use should be relatively inexpensive and easily assembled and with sufficient portability. In practice, these characteristics have been difficult to achieve in greenhouse structures. Various forms of small greenhouse-like structures are presently available for use at home. These structures are used to facilitate the growing of plants and for seed germination prior to planting an outdoor garden. In addition, due to the weather in many geographical areas, people unable to raise out-of-door many of the tropical or more exotic type plants. These plants require relatively high moisture content in the atmosphere and soil as well as a relatively warm temperature.
Prior art greenhouses may be seen in the Brown patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,091,584, for a small building structure. In the Brown patent a skeletal building frame is configured which can be assembled and disassembled to produce a module fabricated from polyvinyl tubing which includes a rectangular base connected at the corners and which has a ridge pole supported by vertical members to the base members. A plurality of arcuate ribs are formed by passing straight tubes through lateral openings in the ridge pole and bending the ends of the tubes downward for insertion into vertical openings in the side members of the base. The frame is then covered with a translucent plastic film or fiberglass panels. The Koziol patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,616, is for a portable greenhouse having a support structure including a plurality of covered sides which can be rolled up. The Schwartz patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,941, is a modular greenhouse construction in which prefabricated panels are interlocked to form walls and a roof. The Greenbaum patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,950, for Solamar II is a shelter for the growth of plants which is comprised of panels. The Trumley et al. patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,626, is a portable self-contained greenhouse having a base pan having longitudinally extending troughs in a transparent enclosure having wall and roof panels supported on the base pan. The Crowley patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,834, is a solar structure or greenhouse having a framework formed with frame members and a flexible cover. The Brigham patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,751,865, is a modular building construction fabricated of a plurality of individual panel sections. The Burvall patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,431, is a connecting element for movably joining together frame members.
In contrast to these prior patents, the present invention allows for the easy assembly of a greenhouse structure from conventional polymer or PVC tube frame members assembled with conventional PVC couplings but which also includes a lightweight hinged door along with special attaching members for attaching the cover to the framework.